1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to recreational or game apparatus and more particularly, to a novel game having a sheet or layer of non-frictional material upon which the players of the game shoot or roll game pieces across the surface thereof and which includes selected barriers at desired locations about the sheet or layer serving as obstacles to the roll of the game pieces.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, most games or recreational games generally provide for a plurality of players to move individual tokens or symbols about the playing surface of a game board. Generally, the game board is located on a table and the participants either sit in chairs or lean over the table in order to take an active part in the game. Such activity is vicarious and does not require the physical presence of the players on the game board surface itself since this is considered to be awkward and cumbersome due to the sheer physical size and weight of the participants. Therefore, games using tokens and symbols representing individual players are commonplace.
However, on certain occasions such as in the play of marbles or the like, active physical participation in the game or event is entertaining, enjoyable and skillful. A typical game of this catagorie usually involves players who lay out a playing field and commencing at the peripheral edge thereof, shoot balls or marbles across the surface thereof at selected targets which may be other marbles belonging to players of the game or which may be a target such as a dish, cup or the like. During the course of play, a participant is sometimes required to kneel on the playing surface itself and shoot the marble in this position and location. As long as the game is played on the ground such as a dirt field, no problem is encountered with support of the player or any adverse playing conditions are encountered which might enhibit or restrict the shoot of the marble.
Difficulties and problems have been encountered when endeavoring to play the conventional game of marbles indoors due to the fact that bare wood floors are hard on the knees of the players and using a carpeted area as the playing surface greatly restricts the speed and direction of the shooting marbles. Also, when playing indoors, space is greatly restricted and the participants cannot move freely about the playing area in order to retrieve marbles which have left the playing field after a shooting procedure has taken place.
Therefore, a longstanding need has existed to provide a novel game apparatus which will permit the indoor play of marbles according to the conventional rules which will not only permit the players to kneel and step on the playing surface but which will not retard or distort the direction of a marble shoot during the course of play. Collection means for stopping and holding marbles after leaving the playing area is greatly desired and such means should not interfere with the kneeling or walking of the participants.